Daniel Benaim

A seasoned foreign policy practitioner and strategic communicator, Daniel Benaim offers insights into the most critical foreign policy challenges of our time, with a focus on the Middle East and international strategic communications.

Most recently serving as the top U.S. State Department official covering the Arabian Gulf and as President Biden’s senior national security speechwriter, Benaim has shaped and executed U.S. policy at the highest levels, from Gulf palaces to the Oval Office. He has served multiple stints at the White House, State Department, and US Senate. As Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Arabian Peninsula from 2021-2025, he took part in a range of initiatives, including diplomacy to end regional wars, efforts to bring jailed Americans home safely, the evacuation of almost 100,000 Afghan allies through the Gulf, arms sales, semiconductor exports, commercial diplomacy, and competition with China in the Middle East. 

Benaim has lectured on topics ranging from the future of American policy in the Gulf to speechwriting, which he taught at the United Nations and New York University. A lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations with publications in Foreign Affairs and The New York Times, he currently runs a consultancy for select clients and holds a fellowship at the Middle East Institute. 

Daniel Benaim is available to advise your organization via virtual and in-person consulting meetings, interactive workshops and customized keynotes through the exclusive representation of Stern Speakers & Advisors, a division of Stern Strategy Group®.